


The Peach Tree

by LivingstoneInAfrica



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Crazy Azula (Avatar), Fluff and Angst, Imprisoned Azula (Avatar), Momo being Momo, Other, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25113034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivingstoneInAfrica/pseuds/LivingstoneInAfrica
Summary: Life after the war has been good for Momo. Exploring, eating, relaxing with friends. But what happens when a day's detour takes him to one of the Fire Nation's most secure prisons, and face to face with an old enemy?
Relationships: Momo & Azula
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	The Peach Tree

Rays pierced morning fog. The lazy fly buzzed above. A flash of fur, white.

Momo chomped down on his catch. The smell of last night’s rain filled his senses, his green tinged view searching for more to fill his hunger. He doubted he could catch a frog, most of them had already retreated into their holes, waiting until the sun strengthened and they could warm their sluggish bodies. Still, the forest was filled to the brim with fruit and prey, and failing that he could always rely on the two legs for the refuse they provided. 

Of course, he could always return to his friend. His friend always had treats for him, scratched his head just where he needed it, and always made the most pleasant of sounds. Many a time he had done just that, and gotten fat and lazy when it suited him. But today he wanted to explore, to feel the wild exhilaration of flight and the delicious sensations that the land provided. He had been to this land before, not that long ago, and he had seen what riches it provided. The land was fertile, the mountainous terrain reminding him of his earliest memories. Thin air. Scurrying hermit crabs in the snow. Strange pale rocks, hidden behind a rag.  
An updraft pulled him up. Momo felt chill. 

He flew on for a while, stopping once at a river bank to drink. He had managed to snag a small lizard, but hunger still gnawed at his insides. Finally, he saw it. 

A peach tree, branches low with fruit. His nose filled with the sweet and slightly sickly fragrance of fallen and overripe produce, and he circled above it, trying to choose his landing place. Finding no trace of the usual predators, he landed, grabbing hold of his prize. 

Sweet sugary nectar poured into his mouth, quieting the pangs of that morning. He was glad too, as the two legs near the town tended to take notice of him and scare him off. Here they took no mind, instead walking the tall circle hill nearby. Their faces were covered, which was never a good sign in his experience, but it had been some time since he had last felt the fear of the bad fire. Besides, they were too busy wrapped up in their own dealings, which suited Momo just fine.

He had just bitten into his second peach when he heard it. It was small sounding, but not distant. It was a voice. Tinny and weak, but still recognizable as the language of the two legs. That was unsurprising, he was surrounded by them after all. No, what was so surprising is that he recognized that voice. Momo looked around nervously. Usually he welcomed it when he recognized something familiar, especially in the distant country he now found himself in. But the voice… something about it reminded him of the sight of a tree snake. He looked down at his bounty, still waiting to be consumed. His instincts told him to go, abandon the fruit and find his friend. Another part was curious, wanting to pinpoint what it was about the voice that made him feel this way. And another part was just hungry. 

So he compromised. Holding onto the fruit with his back legs, he took flight.

It wasn’t hard to find the source of the sound. Tiny as it was, Momo could pinpoint a rodent scurrying in the grass from a quarter of a mile. Still, he approached the small hole with caution. Low to the ground as it was, he’d be a target for predators that were looking for an easy, lemur sized meal. He could find none, and landed.

Bars greeted him. Cold and hard, the gaps between them were almost too tiny for him. Poking his head through, his trepidation only increased.

The room was cloaked in darkness, the moist smell of decay flooding his nose. Cool and cavernous, every sound the two leg below him made seemed to bounce off the walls, as though there were dozens of them in the room instead of the one. Through the darkness, he could see that her face was uncovered, long dark hair covering pallid skin.

“Fire and burn, the destruction of years of struggle...”

She spoke barely above a whisper, her voice weak and dehydrated.

“Remains trapped in his mind, the boy too weak to destroy him, he should’ve destroyed me when he had the chance…”

The speed at which she spoke varied. At moments it flowed out like a river. At others it slowed to a crawl. But it never stopped. Momo did not understand the language of the two legs, but this was not the pleasant chirping of his friend. Still, he could not turn away. Despite himself, he had to come in closer. Near silent, he dropped down into the far corner of the room, debating whether or not to come closer.

“Power comes from those with force, and he is the one with force, despite himself, he might be moulded if given the ri-”

Momo froze. He had been silent, he was sure of it.

The two leg jerked up unnaturally, her rant cut off. Spittle coated her chin, her teeth bared from thin lips. Around her wrists were cuffs that connected to the wall, and Momo could see the blood from where the skin had broken from her struggling. Her nails were like those of claws, the clothes torn. Despite all this, she did not look starved or beaten, but her eyes…

Sunken, and surrounded by skin stained gray. Beneath them were her eyes. Yellow and black, they never wavered from Momo’s position. He recognized those eyes. Memories of heat and static, screams. Adrenaline raced through his system as his body registered that he had entered the lair of a beast. He couldn’t move.

“Show yourself.” The two leg said, breaking the silence that had come over them.

Somehow he understood, and warily he stepped out of the shadow.

She studied him, an expression Momo did not recognize passing on her face.

“You?” The two leg tilted her head. “After all this time, the Avatar sends me his pet? Has little Zuzu sent you here to deliver me a message, checking up on his sister?”

She broke out into cruel laughs, but it never reached her eyes. Those stayed on Momo.

“I’d love to speak with him, Mai too, if they aren’t too busy. Family issues, I’m sure you’d understand.”

Momo remained silent, unsure. Every instinct was telling him to run, to leave. 

“Well?” Her sharp tone brought him back into attention. “Are you going to deliver a message or not?”

Something stirred in the back of his mind, of cats in a city that he had long since left. 

Taking the peach he was still carrying by the stem, he rolled it to her, letting it land at her feet. Her expression changed, and she looked down in shock at the surprise gift. Without a second's hesitation Momo took flight, rushing through the bars that separated him from freedom. The heat of the subtropical afternoon sun hit his back, the sight of the forest and the mountains once again filling his view, air currents above and underneath him. He turned towards his friend.

It was quiet on his way back.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, this is my first work on this site. Let me know if you enjoyed it, any criticisms you might have, and any other thoughts. Thanks, and have a good rest of your day.


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